Archive for November, 2014

“Flipped-flopped control in the state Senate during recent years sent upstate New York on a bad path, State Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, told the Allegany County Board of Legislators earlier this week. She added the recent elections results will lead to positive changes for the area now that the Republicans have regained a majority … Ms. Young said the state Senate will also re-examine the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (S.A.F.E.) Act, a gun control law which the Allegany County Board of Legislators opposed earlier this year. Republicans already negotiated some of the terms presented in the initial S.A.F.E. Act, the senator said, and the current law would have featured more restrictions in it — pistol permit renewal every two years instead of every five years — had the Republicans not won the majority of the seats during this year’s election …”

Bullshit. The reason SAFE was voted on in the first place was because the Republicans wanted it to be voted on. The agreement Dean Skelos had with Jeff Klein was that either of them could have blocked any bill from coming to the floor. Skelos didn’t do that. So now Young is saying Skelos & Co. is going to change the very law that they wanted instituted in the first place? Yeah, right.

“… “The strong assumption is that [Liang] had his finger on the trigger” as he and Landau, who did not draw his weapon, conducted a “vertical patrol” of the stairwell, according to a law-enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation. “When you keep your finger on the trigger, it’s a lot more likely that you will fire accidentally if you are startled or frightened.” … Police Commissioner Bill Bratton conceded Friday that rookies shouldn’t be paired up for dangerous housing-project patrols. But neither of these issues was as cataclysmic as Liang’s apparent decision to keep his left index finger on the trigger of his 9mm Glock as he descended the pitch-black stairwell of one of the city’s most notorious projects, NYPD veterans and critics agree. “No one can tell a cop not to draw his weapon, but the one thing they do tell you is not to put your finger on the trigger unless you are firing. Otherwise, if you’re startled, there can be a grasping response,” the source said …”

What makes this less tragic and more infuriating is that it highlights the fact that the NYPD has known for decades that many officers lack even the most basic skills to handle firearms safely. That’s why they came up with the “New York” and “New York Plus” triggers for Glocks 20-something years ago. This is something city officials have turned a blind eye to for years. Unless, of course, they thought they could get some political mileage out of it. Speaking of which:

“Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top donors contributed six times as much to help elect Republicans to the State Senate as they did to similar efforts to help Democrats, a Capital New York analysis shows … The analysis by Capital shows Cuomo’s network of wealthy donors actively contributed to keep Republicans in power in the Senate. Many of those donors have long given to Republican candidates, but the analysis shows Cuomo’s top donors gave an increasing percentage of their contributions to Republicans, even after the governor promised to help his party recapture the Senate …”

“… . Cuomo’s victory, despite the disappointing final count, gives him the opportunity to build on the same successes of his governorship that made him so popular prior to this year. Those successes, which were well-publicized throughout the state and even captured some national media attention included delivering the state budget on time for four consecutive years, an accomplishment not witnessed in Albany in three decades; producing in response to the Newton Connecticut Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, the passage of the NY SAFE ACT, which among other provisions, mandates background checks for all gun sales; creating more than a half-million private sector jobs and reducing the state unemployment rate from the 8.2 percent when he took office to its current level of 5.6 percent …”

That’s an impressive amount of BS packed into one paragraph. Ken Lovett’s piece in the usually disreputable Daily News offers a reality check:

“… Just 18% of the state’s 10.8 million registered voters actually voted for Cuomo, who beat Republican Rob Astorino by 13 points. And Cuomo only got 743,679 votes in New York City, compared to de Blasio’s 795,679 votes in 2013. “Talk about a mandate,” joked one Democratic insider sarcastically. “These guys were the first ones out there bashing the mayor for his vote total — and (Cuomo) did even worse.” Overall, Cuomo got 1.9 million votes — about a million less than when he was first elected four years ago. Astorino got virtually the same 1.5 million votes as Cuomo’s GOP foe four years ago. Turnout was anemic this year …”

This isn’t the sign of a popular politician. Plus, he left out the fact that in order to win Cuomo forged a sleazy deal with the Republicans to undermine Astorino and suppress turnout. Astorino actually beat Cuomo upstate. If the GOP machine got behind Astorino he could have won.

Now that the election is over, who is celebrating? Nobody. The Governor himself has gone back into hiding. Yes, Cuomo won but the bigger win goes to the Tammany machine for more or less keeping the status quo.

This is a variation of a tactic going back more than 10 years. If these politically appointed police chiefs believe so strongly in “smart guns” then they should set an example by requiring all members of their departments to use them on duty. None will do that.

Like he was the only one who knew this. The only way it could have been more obvious was if both parties held a press conference on the steps of the Capital.

“… Skelos spokeswoman Kelly Cummings called Lawler’s charges “totally false,’’ insisting that “Skelos supported Astorino’’ and contending that [Ed] Mangano’s decision to back Cuomo “was his own.” A Cuomo spokesman also dismissed any deal between his boss and Skelos as a “delusion,” adding, “It’s wrong on the facts.” …”

“… He faced a backlash from some angry Democrats who said Cuomo’s lack of campaigning for himself and others not only suppressed only his own voter totals but those of Democrats in races further down the ballot … Unlike other top Dems such as Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, Cuomo did not actively campaign for Democratic congressional or state Senate candidates. He also alienated the Democrats’ traditional liberal base with his policies, which could have suppressed turnout, some Democrats said. One source involved in the battle for control of the state Senate said the Cuomo camp dragged its feet when asked for things like an endorsement announcement or even something simple such as a candidate picture with the governor …”

“… Governor Andrew Cuomo is being blamed for staggering Democratic Party losses in the House of Representatives. Despite the Governor fundraising upwards of $45 million for his own reelection campaign … his beleaguered fellow Democrats received minimal financial support from the Governor — and top party operatives in Washington, DC are rumored to be irate. A full quarter of all Democratic Party losses in the House last night occurred in New York …”